Chapter 283 Zhu Youxiao: My brother has the qualities of Yao and Shun, Zhang Jingxiu, the Ming Dynasty version of the Nine Dragon Battle for Succession!
Ming Dynasty, capital, Wansui Mountain.
Above the gloomy sky, streaks of rain fell, forming a large rain curtain between the sky and the earth.
The rain penetrated the dense branches and leaves of the old locust tree, making a rustling sound.
At this moment, under the old locust tree, there were two tall figures standing. When the rain fell on them, it was bounced away by a layer of faint white light.
However, the two of them didn't care about it at all.
"Fifth brother, you handled the Manjin family very well. Father is very satisfied."
The young man who looked a little older was talking to the boy who looked like a teenager next to him.
"However, the Aisin-Gioro clan is quite ambitious. Father thinks that you should eradicate them completely."
"If you are a disobedient dog, just beat him to death. Don't give him a chance to bite you. Now the royal grandfather has taken the cabinet officials to practice in seclusion. The era of the Ninth Prince has arrived."
"This Manjin family has been operating in Manchuria for a long time. Now you have forced them to slaughter the eight collateral clans, and only the clan leader and the heir of the direct line can practice normally."
Zhu Youxiao paused, looked at his fifth brother Zhu Youjian, and said, "If this clan has a chance, they may have different intentions and turn to others at the most critical moment."
Hearing his elder brother say this, Zhu Youjian raised his head, smiled at Zhu Youxiao and said, "Don't worry, elder brother, I know what to do, and besides..."
"What if we really give him this opportunity?"
"Hmm?" Seeing his fifth brother smiling like a little fox, Zhu Youxiao was startled and asked, "But this so-called Manjin family has already had ulterior motives?"
"It's not that he has any other intentions," Zhu Youjian said, and he walked forward to touch the trunk of the old locust tree, nodded slightly and said, "But this Aixinjueluo Nurhaci is a heroic and powerful figure in himself."
"This person is quite ambitious. He suffered such a great humiliation from me this time. If he says he has no resentment in his heart... Haha, I absolutely don't believe it."
"Moreover, his fourteenth son, Aixinjuelu Dorgon, is still very young, but his talent in cultivation is very high, and his destiny is also extraordinary."
"It's Dorgon, his eighth son, Aixinjueluo Huang Taiji, and Huang Taiji's sons. They all have very good fortunes."
"Tsk tsk, what a pity," Zhu Youjian shook his head slightly and said, "At the beginning, I gave Nurhaci the option of choosing the successor to the clan leader."
"And his choice was Dorgon."
"And this also means that Nurhaci's other fifteen sons are all unable to use normal spiritual resources to practice. The lineage of Huang Taiji, who has the best qualifications..."
"Waste." Zhu Youjian opened his mouth and uttered two understated words, then looked at Zhu Youxiao with a smile and said, "Brother, do you think Nurhaci would not feel resentful?"
"He is nothing but a dog," Zhu Youjian waved his hand again and said, "My Prince Yu's Mansion is in alliance with Prince An, and Prince An is now the most powerful among all the princes."
"The other eight princes will definitely focus their firepower on dealing with Prince An, and my Prince Yu Mansion, as Prince An's backer, will definitely become a thorn in everyone's side."
"If the Ninth Prince wants to attack my Prince Yu's Mansion, he will definitely not miss any opportunity to take advantage of it."
"Instead of that, your Manjin family is a good 'bait', isn't it?"
"When the time comes, we just need to take advantage of the situation."
"But what if the Manjin family doesn't fall for it?" Zhu Youxiao couldn't help but ask.
"Oh," Zhu Youjian chuckled and said, "If you don't want to be fooled, then don't be fooled. Keeping an obedient dog can always do something for me, right?"
"It's just a casual move." Zhu Youjian suddenly seemed to have thought of something, and said in surprise: "Brother, you don't expect me to be the main force of Prince Yu's Mansion in the next fight with the other princes, right?"
"I don't have such an idea, please forgive me."
"I can easily make a move, which can be used or not, it's just a matter of choice."
"Compared to power struggles, I would rather study Confucian classics with my teachers at Donglin Academy."
"Confucian classics?" Zhu Youjian frowned and said, "Fifth brother, born in an imperial family, what we need to learn is how to rule the people. The theories of the Hundred Schools of Thought are not..."
"Alright, alright," Zhu Youjian said helplessly without waiting for Zhu Youxiao to finish his words: "That's true! But there are three thousand ways, and human power is limited sometimes..."
"You have to choose the one you like, right?" Zhu Youjian looked at Zhu Youxiao and said, "Just like my elder brother, who is obsessed with the art of immortal craftsmanship."
"Isn't my father dissatisfied with this?"
"Brother, I know what you are planning," Zhu Youjian said, sighing softly, "You think that father and grandfather think highly of me, and even my great grandfather thinks highly of me, and the emperor's ancestors all know me."
"So all of you see me as the future ruler of the palace. However, I only want to cultivate, study, and comprehend the great Dao. I don't want anything else."
"Huh!" Zhu Youjian took a deep breath and looked at the magnificent and majestic imperial city in the distance, which was shrouded by a large formation. He said, "I'm really not interested in ruling the world."
"Nonsense!" Zhu Youxiao waved his hand when he heard this, and said angrily: "As a member of the royal family, a direct descendant of the royal ancestors, you can't get rid of power!"
"Everyone in this world can say that they don't want to be greedy for power, but you, me, and the direct descendants of the kings are the only ones who can't do that!"
"I think you have been corrupted by those corrupt scholars," Zhu Youxiao said coldly, "After the New Year, you should return to the capital from Donglin Academy..." Without waiting for Zhu Youjian to speak, Zhu Youxiao continued, "This is what my father meant."
"That's what Grandpa and Great Grandpa meant!"
"...Brother!" Zhu Youjian wanted to say something, but was interrupted by Zhu Youxiao, "It's settled!"
"There is no need to say more about this matter," Zhu Youxiao said, "Fifth brother, you know father's temper. If you don't come back, those people in Donglin Academy..."
As he spoke, a hint of coldness appeared in Zhu Youxiao's eyes.
Seeing his elder brother in such a scene, Zhu Youjian's face darkened and the spiritual energy in his hands was also retracted into his body.
"Patt, patt, patt." The rain quickly wet his clothes. Seeing this scene, Zhu Youxiao's eyes softened for a moment, and then returned to his solemn look.
"I understand." Zhu Youjian said coldly, turned around and left, "I will go back to Changzhou Prefecture today to take care of some things. Brother, wait for me to say goodbye to my father."
Looking at the figure disappearing in the rain, Zhu Youxiao opened his mouth but ultimately did not shout out anything.
"Fifth brother, you clearly have the talent of Yao and Shun. If you were born in a mortal dynasty, you would have had the opportunity to ascend to the throne."
"If you want to blame someone, blame yourself for not knowing how to hide your weaknesses and showing off too much. Now I'm afraid you can't get away from this."
After saying that, Zhu Youxiao took a deep breath of the cold rain, walked to the old locust tree in front of him, gently stroked the old tree in front of him, and a look of nostalgia appeared in his eyes.
A childish voice seemed to ring in my ears.
"Brother, don't you like carpentry? Today I will plant this locust tree for you, so that the spiritual energy of the imperial city can nourish it. After a few decades, it will become a top-quality spiritual plant."
"Then I will give it to you..." Zhu Youxiao couldn't help but smile and said sadly:
"I can still hear the echoes of those days, but now my fifth brother has no choice. Haha..."
……
Capital city, Prince An’s Palace.
Prince An Zhu Zairun sat on the upper throne.
Below him sat a middle-aged man with a calm aura, gentle and elegant temperament.
This person was none other than Zhang Juzheng's eldest son, Zhang Jingxiu, also known by his courtesy name Siwen and pseudonym Yanzhou.
"Siwen, your father, the elders of the cabinet, and the six ministers have all entered the Qiankun Realm for seclusion and cultivation. What should we do next? What do you think?" Zhu Zairun said.
Ever since Zhang Juzheng became Zhu Zairun's lecturer, Prince An Zhu Zairun has been living in seclusion and practicing Buddhism.
Now, the power of the Ming Dynasty will be returned to the kings within ten years. Zhang Juzheng and others have also gone into seclusion. Naturally, it is his turn to step forward and take charge of the situation.
After all, what he will face next is the joint siege of the other eight kings, so he has to take it seriously.
Zhang Jingxiu's current official position is Hanlin Bachelor.
Although he was only a fifth-rank official, he was the chief of the Hanlin Academy, responsible for compiling national history and classics, drafting imperial edicts and memorials, making suggestions on policies, and was often by the emperor's side.
Well, although my father doesn’t really need these people to be around him all the time, the power of the Ming Dynasty is in the hands of the cabinet.
However, the chief official of the Hanlin Academy is qualified to participate in every cabinet meeting.
Especially since Zhang Juzheng returned to the cabinet, the Hanlin Academy has been controlled by the Zhang family for decades.
Although Zhang Jingxiu has always kept a low profile, he is very clear about the situation in the court and Zhang Juzheng's arrangements in the court and the country over the years.
In fact, many times, he stayed by Prince An's side on behalf of Zhang Juzheng and gave him advice.
In fact, in the heart of Prince An Zhu Zairun, the relationship between him and Zhang Jingxiu was even better than that between him and Zhang Juzheng. "Now, all the elders in the cabinet have entered the Qiankun realm for retreat, and the cabinet is managed by you and the other princes," Zhang Jingxiu stroked his beard and said in a gentle tone:
"But in my opinion, the situation is not different, or there has been no change."
Prince An made a listening gesture and motioned Zhang Jingxiu to continue.
"Rather than saying that your current opponent is the other Overlords, it is better to say that the Eighth Prince's real opponent is to break the current situation," Zhang Jingxiu said with a smile on his face, looking confident: "Before this, the situation in the court had already been fixed, and you relied on Prince Yu's Mansion."
"If the Eighth King wants to deal with you, it is equivalent to breaking the situation, so the Eighth King is the enemy of everyone."
"I think that Your Highness should not regard yourself as a group of the Nine Kings. You must regard yourself as an old-fashioned force that the other eight kings are ready to attack you."
"I believe that the elders of the cabinet and the senior officials of the six ministries have already made arrangements before they went into seclusion."
"What's at stake is the Nine Kings' invasion, especially those who remain neutral, such as the Yan family, the Xu family, the Hai family, and the Lu family, which are the major immortal clans."
"Not only that, there is also Tang Shunzhi, the Tang family, who dominates the southeast and serves as the governor of Zhejiang."
"In addition, there are also the families of the various overseas provincial governors."
"These families have always remained neutral and have not taken sides with any of the Nine Kings."
"Therefore, I think what we need to do at this time is to form an alliance with these neutral and opposition families in the name of Prince Yu's Mansion and Prince An's Mansion!"
"We can form a community to protect their interests and even provide them with shelter when necessary."
"In fact, as long as we tie these families firmly to a warship and hold out for ten years, we can wait for the cabinet elders and the senior officials of the six ministries to come out of Qiankun."
"So, for us, it's already a victory."
"That's right," After listening to Zhang Jingxiu's analysis, Prince An hesitated for a moment, nodded, and said, "But how can we gain the trust of these families?"
"After all, most of the power of the other eight princes is in other prefectures, states and counties of the Ming Dynasty. At this time, the Ninth Prince is assisting the cabinet. In the eyes of those families who remain neutral or in the opposition, they are a piece of fat meat!"
"It is also an opportunity for them to expand their power, whitewash the court, and install their own faction."
"If we suddenly offer them asylum, will these families regard it as a conspiracy?"
"Your Highness's concerns are not without reason," Zhang Jingxiu said, as if he had already considered this matter, "Therefore, we cannot just talk about it, but must take action."
"Let them see our sincerity!"
"As for the Eight Kings, they will naturally not let these families go."
"The only difference between us and the other eight kings is that we are backed by desire. We are the most powerful and have the most factions in the court."
"But the Eighth Prince is different. Well, it's the Seventh Prince. After all, Gao Gong, the elder Gao, supported the Fifth Prince Zhu Zaichun." Zhang Jingxiu shook his head slightly and continued, "The Seventh Prince basically has no connections in the court."
"We can afford it, but they can't."
"Therefore, the Seventh King will definitely take advantage of these ten years to do whatever it takes to force these families to submit."
"At this time, we just need to stand aside and watch. When these families can no longer hold on, we can lend a helping hand."
"Your Highness, please know that our goal is not to expand our power, but to completely eliminate the other kings within these ten years."
"If necessary, we can even choose to cooperate with Prince Jing's Mansion and His Highness the Fifth Prince!"
"We just need to hold on to our base, then we can last for ten years, constantly harassing the kings, making them exhausted and constantly consuming their strength."
"Ten years later, when all the elders of the cabinet and the senior officials of the six ministries have come out of retreat, their cultivation will surely have reached a terrifying level."
"At that time," Zhang Jingxiu paused and said in a deep voice, "I'm afraid that my Ming Dynasty will have to start entering the extraterritorial star world!"
"By then, the Emperor will definitely not allow any other forces in the court to make any more moves."
"The future is long. For a very long time, the kings will be completely dormant. The next time they fight for power, I'm afraid it will be in the outer star sea!"
As he spoke, Zhang Jingxiu took a deep breath and said, "Your Highness, I speculate that there will be two battlefields for serving my Ming Dynasty. One is in ten years, entering the outer star sea!"
"At that time, all parties in the court and the various kings' forces will have divided the star regions."
"This is also tacitly approved by the emperor. What the emperor wants to see is that not only the top leaders of the Ming Dynasty in this universe, but also everyone below them, have completely completed their transformation!"
"Therefore, ten years later, when the era of the outer star sea begins, all families and forces will usher in a blowout explosion."
"When the Ming army is strong and powerful, it will be the right time to invade the world of immortal cultivation."
"After the Ming invades the world of immortal cultivation, the forces of all parties will surely experience another surge!"
"At that time, Your Highness, your subordinates will not only be on Earth."
"Your sphere of authority will be divided by star regions."
"And during these ten years, Your Highness, what you need to do is to cultivate as many confidants as possible!"
"Especially the common people, as well as the Huxia of the Five Military Commands, and the military households in the various military garrisons."
"In the future, the military will inevitably step onto the stage again and shine. To conquer the world, it ultimately depends on people!"
"With ten years, a lot of resources, and favors, you will definitely have a large number of people loyal to you."
After listening to Zhang Jingxiu's analysis, Prince An Zhu Zairun took a deep breath, nodded, and said with relief: "I have Siwen, so why should I worry about not achieving my hegemony!"
"It is an honor for my Zhang family and for my father and me to share His Highness's worries," Zhang Jingxiu said modestly.
"Haha," Prince An chuckled. He naturally knew why the Zhang family supported him, so he said generously:
"Don't worry, Siwen. If I become the crown prince one day, I will fully support Zhang Gelao's reforms!"
In response, Zhang Jingxiu did not show any modesty, but stood up, bowed, and directly acknowledged it.
At the same time, as he bowed, a look of emotion appeared in his eyes, and he thought to himself:
"The Nine Dragons are fighting for the throne. I'm afraid a lot of people will die in the past ten years..."
"Although Your Highness appears to obey me now, the method I propose is to defend rather than attack."
"But with such a good opportunity, how could Your Highness lie dormant instead of attacking?"
"However, my father had already given me instructions before he entered the Qiankun Realm, so I'll stop here."
"Although my Zhang family supports Prince An, we must always leave room for maneuver!"
"Now I am only offering the most conservative option, which is whether the brothers can live in harmony or kill each other... This is not something my Zhang family can participate in!"
While Prince An and Zhang Jingxiu were discussing how to deal with the other eight princes, the other eight princes also began to discuss with their supporters how to seize power!
After all, they only have ten years.
Ten years later, just as Zhang Jingxiu had seen, the advisers around the other kings naturally also saw the result, which was that the Ming Dynasty was about to step into the outer star world.
At that time, the emperor would not allow them to act recklessly, because the real enemy of the Ming Dynasty was the world of immortal cultivation.
The curtain has already been raised on a drama of nine dragons fighting for the throne.
The kings and their advisers appeared one after another.
Even the Donglin Party, which had already been active in the court, began to wander around.
The Yan Party faction has the Yan family genius, Yan Shaoting, who is personally in charge, which is a reassurance to the Yan Party.
There are also the Xu Jie family, the Gao Gong family, the Zhao Zhenji family, the Hai Rui family, the families of the five military commanders, and the opposition provincial governors, such as the Tang Shunzhi family.
Not only that, many overseas provincial governments and their subordinate families also smelled something different.
At this moment, everything was in turmoil. The calm before the storm made all the families feel uneasy.
Well, it’s no wonder they are uneasy.
After all, in today's Ming Dynasty, the emperor, the cabinet, the Imperial Household Department, and the six ministers have all become hands-off managers and practiced in seclusion. In the next ten years, the Nine Princes will definitely cause great chaos.
If they fail in the slightest, many families will perish, and they cannot help but feel uneasy and panic.
"..."
(End of this chapter)
